Power
by PerspectiveDeveloped
Summary: For a long time, there were only a few known metahumans, until the mysterious Diana stepped on the scene. Can she help keep the world balanced? What is the secret her family keeeps hiding?
1. Chapter 1

**It's new story time with PerspectiveDeveloped! By the way, I promise I'll update The Reigning Consort, I Thought I Knew You, and Reaching Across the Stars soon. This story will be unlike anything I've ever written, so I'm excited. Are you ready?**

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><p><em>Freak.<em>

_Monster_

_Mutant._

The words drifted across Diana's sleeping mind. She rolled over, and words continued to be heard in her dreams.

_Destroyer._

_Killer._

Diana sat up quickly, wiping beads of sweat off of her face. Groaning, she stood up, walked into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror before splashing water on her face. Wiping her face, she took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the old mirror. Looking closely, she found one thing startling: it was getting harder and harder to recognize herself.

She still had the same short black hair and gray eyes, but the stress and the nervous energy she was burning had been giving her face a leaner look, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't eat. She was too afraid she would lose control of her...ability and harm someone she cared for, so she kept her mouth closed, closing herself to the world. It all worked out, because she never felt like eating, and preferred not to speak.

It was why she still lived in her grandfather's house, with her father and brother. Her mother had disappeared many years ago, after metahumans started popping up and the government tried to wipe out any threat. Metahumans, called supers, were people with superhuman abilities. First, they were forced to register. Many did. But the few that didn't began to wreak havoc allnover the world. Because of the damage caused, international law forced the supers into hiding.

Diana didn't know if her mother was a super or a sympathizer, but either could be dangerous. No one knew what happened if a super was caught, but rumors were prevalent. Some said that they were taken to a secret location and trained to fight as mercenaries. Others said that their powers were wiped, along with their memories. They were given new identities, along with new jobs and places to live.

Diana sighed and splashed more water on her face. At 21, she should have been enjoying the prime of her life, not locking herself away because she was afraid.

Afraid of hurting others. Afraid of being taken away from her family. Afraid of losing all memories and connections with them, so that they would be nothing less than a passing daydream.

Walking back to her room, a whispered conversation caught her attention.

"We have to give her up. Who knows what she could do, or what would happen if they found out we were harboring one?"

She stifled a gasp. That voice belonged to her father.

But then she heard her grandfather speak. "She is one of us. We will not give her up. This is my house, and I make the rules."

"Make the smart decision. Think about the rest of the family."

They lowered their voices, but Diana had heard enough. Running down the stairs, she grabbed her coat from the closet and ran out of the door. As she left, she heard her grandfather yell at her father, "A family looks out for each other, not turns against its own kind!"

Diana ran as far as she could, not stopping until she reached the wheat fields at the edge of her small town. Running straight into the middle, she stopped, fell to her knees, and let out a scream.

Not just any scream. A sonic scream, made powerful by the high-frequency sound waves it produced. It was powerful enough to destroy buildings, and with its full potential, render anyone within earshot unconscious.

The rows of wheat in front of her toppled where the sound waves had hit them, and several car alarms went off all over the area.

Gasping for breath, Diana realized that she had unintentionally used most of the air in her lungs to generate her scream, and wouldn't be able to make it home for a very long time. She stood up to take a step, but the effort knocked her over. Diana collapsed, fighting to force air into her lungs. Trying again, she managed to make it to the edge, before stumbling.

This time, she couldn't force herself up.

Diana managed to move back into the field, out of danger, before passing out.

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><p>Kendall Knight stood atop a building and stared at the city below him, wondering how life had brought him there. Due to the government, he was in hiding, yet snuck out every night to freely use his powers. He was one of the known supers in the area, being forced to register when he was young, and due to his frequent sightings, it was unknown whether or not he was in hiding.<p>

Kendall flew off of the building, flying over city after city, before reaching the rural area. He suddenly began to start falling, temporarily losing consciousness after hearing what sounded like a loud scream, but quickly regained it. Looking down, he noticed a girl trying to make her way out of a field of wheat. Judging from her location, she was the one with the powerful scream, and she looked like she was struggling.

Kendall silently hovered above, watching to see if she could make it.

She didn't.

Kendall swooped down and grabbed her. He knew exactly where to take her.

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><p>Diana woke up in a white bed in a white room. A heart monitor on the wall beeped softly, and a clock showed her the time. Softly swinging her legs out of the bed, she walked slowly out of the room.<p>

The hallway outside was bustling with activity. Crowds of people walked to and from various places, not stopping to giver her a glance. She quickly shut herself back in, jumping when two people, a woman and a boy about her age, appeared in her room.

"Who are you?" She asked.

The woman smiled. "This is Kendall, and everyone here calls me J," she said.

"Where am I?"

J smiled even more. "You are at the Palm Woods, top-secret home of the specially gifted."

"Specially gifted? Does that mean you all have powers?"

Kendall nodded. "My powers are flight, speed, and strength. J here has telepathy."

"The power to read minds," Diana answered.

J nodded. "Precisely. Now, since you seem to be all right, would you mind following Kendall? We need to analyze your powers."

Diana nodded and followed Kendall to a large empty room.

"This is the simulation room," he explained. "We use it to train, practice control, and test our powers. It tells you the exact extent of your powers, and the name of the ability."

"I couldn't explain it any better myself," said J's voice over a speaker. "Now, we need you to state your name and power."

Diana sighed. "My name is Diana, and I have a have a sonic scream."

"Wonderful. Now show us what you've got, Diana," J answered after a pause.

Diana motioned for Kendall to step back before taking a deep breath and releasing a powerful scream, holding it for fifteen seconds.

"Interesting," J slowly stated. "Kendall, could you bring Diana up here?"

Kendall led Diana up a set of stairs into a control room. J sat at a desk, tapping away at a tablet.

Once Kendall and Diana entered, she looked up. "Diana, the software said you actually have telekinesis, not a sonic scream. According to this, your sonic scream is you manipulating the air around your scream to make it more powerful. But there's one thing I need to see. Kendall, take her back to the simulation room. Diana, I wamt you to try to read his mind."

Once they were back in the simulation room, Diana took a deep breath and focused, somehow finding herself in Kendall's thoughts. Before she had time to read anything, she was forced out.

Kendall gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, force of habit."

Both Kendall and Diana jumped when J's excited voice came pcer the speakers. "I knew it! Diana, you have telepathy as well as telekinesis. Finally, I have someone to train."

Diana smiled.

"Congratulations," Kendall said.

Diana thought for a moment and looked up. "J," she called.

"Yes Diana?" J replied.

"If I have telekinesis, does that mean that if I control it to a certain point, I'll be able to fly?"

J was silent. "I guess. I've never seen it done, though. But now we need to design an outfit for you."

"An outfit?" Diana responded. For the first time, she noticed that Kendall was wearing a red and blue unitard that reminded her of Spider-Man, but instead of a full face mask, he only had a mask to cover his eyes.

"If you're going to be training here, then we need to identify you. You'll need at least two kinds of outfits: a regular one and a special occasions one. They're all bullet-proof, and protect the wearer from high and low temperatures. And as a bonus, they're friction resistant, machine washable, and come with a locator device. If you ever need any sort of backup, we'll be able to see and send help. Kendall will show you to the design room."

Kendall silently led Diana to the room, allowing her the time to design an outfit.

Diana looked over colors and designs, and finally created two outfits. Looking at Kendall, she asked, "What now?"

"Choose which one you want to be your main one, then step over there," he pointed.

Diana quickly tapped the computer screen, then went to where Kendall directed. It looked like a small, circular elevator that was only big enough for one person. He pressed a button, then a green laser began to scan her. It stopped, and then the doors closed. A few seconds later, they opened, and Diana stepped out.

She was wearing a strapless navy blue jumpsuit, with silver around the waist. For shoes, she wore matching flat boots. Silver gloves completed the outfit. Kendall seemed stunned, but quickly recovered.

"A bunch of copies of both your regular outfit and special occasion outfit are being sent to your room."

The door to the room opened as J walked in. "I see you've taken care of everything. Nice outfit. By the way, you might want to head to the cafeteria. They're serving pizza today."

Diana walked out, following Kendall. The cafeteria was a large room, easily fitting all of the people, as well as the serving area.

The line moved quickly, so they got their food in a short while, before Diana realized she didn't have a place to sit.

"Diana, sit with me. There are some people I want you to meet," Kendall said, motioning for her to follow him. At his table were eight people, including Kendalll. There were five guys and three girls.

"James, Logan, Carlos, Dak, Camille, Lucy, and Stephanie, this is Diana."

They all grinned.

"I'm James," said the one sitting next to Kendall. He had brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Carlos," continued a guy with raven hair and tan skin, between bites of pizza.

"I'm Logan," spoke a pale, dark haired guy.

"I'm Dak," finished a guy with dark hair and brown eyes.

"It's very nice to meet you," Diana said, sitting with the girls.

"I'm Stephanie, and those are Camille and Lucy," said the girl Diana sat next to. She had olive skin and brown hair and eyes.

Camille was slightly paler, but she had a bright smile. Lucy seemed more edgy, but also seemed to have a sense of humor.

"What are your powers?" Diana asked.

Camille smiled. "You probably know Kendall's. James has speed and is excellent with hand to hand combat, and he has what J calls durability. Logan, aside from intellect, has elasticity. Carlos has retractable wings, and can communicate with animals. Dak is a shapeshifter, Stephanie is pyrokinetic, Lucy also has a sonic scream, and I can mimic the abilities of animals.

Diana nodded. "I have telekinesis and telepathy. And a sort of sonic scream."

Lucy said, "You know, Kendall must see some massive potential in you. He's never brought a first day recruit with him to the center table."

"Stop it, Lucy," Stephanie replied. "We do need a ninth member. That way, we'll habe a tiebreaker."

"A tiebreaker?" Diana echoed, surprised.

Camille laughed. "Sorry for not explaining earlier. We're sort of like a council, and we make the decisions concerning the student body. We have public meetings every week, and meet by ourselves every day."

"Is there some sort of...order?" Diana asked.

Camille nodded. "Kendall and James are one and two. After James is Lucy, then Logan, then me, then Carlos, then Stephanie, then Dak, then you. I think. Depending on how the week ends, you could end up above Dak."

"Why was I picked?" Diana questioned.

"To be picked, you need to have mastered one part of your powers. Kendall and James have full control. Lucy can focus her scream, and even curve it. Logan can stretch to fit everything and anything. He still doesn't know how far he can stretch. When I absorb an animal's abilities, I can absorb only one thing, instead of everything."

"So rather than absorb the size and mass of an elephant, you choose to absorb the strength," concluded Diana.

Camille nodded and continued. "Carlos can communicate with animals by species. Stephanie can focus a small, hot flame. Dak can shapeshift animals without being taken over by their instincts. And from what I hear, you can manipulate the air around you into speeding up sound waves to form a sonic scream. And since you're one of us now, the name of our team is now The Nine. Welcome aboard, Diana."

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><p><strong>List of powers of The Nine:<strong>

**Kendall: Strength, speed, flight (because he's the leader)**

**James: Speed, hand to hand combat master, durability (because he can be sneaky)**

**Lucy: Sonic scream (because she's a rockstar)**

**Logan: Intelligence, elasticity (self-explanatory on that one)**

**Camille: Animal mimicry (because she can act)**

**Carlos: Flight, ability to speak to animals (because he's the innocent one)**

**Stephanie: Pyrokinetic (I don't know why, but she would look cool controlling fire)**

**Dak: Shapeshifting (Because. Just because)**

**Diana: Telekinesis, telepathy**

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><p><strong>I'm going to refer to that list later, so it's there for me as much as it is for you. Review please! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm really excited with the feedback I got with the first chapter, so here we go.**

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><p>Diana lifted her hands, causing two chairs to levitate. Slowly, she allowed them to land back on the ground, before repeating without using her hands.<p>

"Excellent, Diana," said the instructor. He was a tall, stately man with graying hair and blue eyes.

He turned around, changing the setting of the simulation room to a forest-like scene. "Now, I want all of you to try to use your abilities and uproot a tree."

All of the students turned and focused on a tree. Diana picked a tree and began to try to uproot it.

"Never stop pushing yourself. Keep testing your limits. Stay focused and stay strong."

Following the instructor's advice, Diana uprooted the tree with power, accidentally throwing it in the air, directly at another student. Not knowing what to do, she held up one hand, hearing the room lapse into silence.

They were all looking at her, as she...

As she held an uprooted tree in the air. Taking a deep breath, she threw it as far as she could, before reading the minds of the people close to her.

_How can she do that?_

_I've been here for two years. She's been here for two days and is already better than me. _

_I heard she's joining the Council, and that they're going to call themselves The Nine. No wonder._

The instructor dismissed the class, and Diana left feeling satisfied. Walking around a corner, she overheard James and Kendall speaking. Straining her ear, she heard,

"I understand that she's powerful, but recruiting her on her first day?"

"I have to. James, you and I have been friends since forever. You know about my family. I have to be sure."

"I guess," James said.

Diana quickly peered around the corner and tried to read Kendall's mind, almost reaching his thoughts, but being roughly shoved out.

"Diana, wherever you are, know that I can feel you whenever you try to read my mind, and know that I can get you out."

Diana leaned back against the wall and tried to catch her breath. J had been teaching her to enter the mind of another person, but not how to push her way in. Kendall had obviously been trained to block his mind, and even push out, but she was as going to practice until she could.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up and walked the other way, for her lesson with J. If anyone could tell her information about the school's most powerful student, it would be J.

On her way, she caught a glimpse of a very familiar man walking out of a classroom. Her grandfather.

Walking in his direction, she called loudly, "Mr. Schaeffer," waiting for a reaction.

He turned around, and smiled upon seeing her, leading her into a room.

"I see my granddaughter has discovered the Palm Woods academy."

Diana smiled widely. "I accidentally stumbled. But how, and why are you here?"

He stood up, made sure the door was closed, and sat down.

"Diana, since the dawn of metahumans 120 years ago, our family has been involved in the training of supers. Your great grandfather, my father, founded this school. But when we had to go into hiding, he found a way to make us a top-secret government project. We are so secret, not even the Secretary of State knows we exist. Our work is about to be re-legalized, but until then, we are being used for top secret jobs."

Diana sat in shock. "So what about you? What power do you have?"

He smiled. "I can control kinetic energy. But that's beside the point. You are a powerful girl, Diana. Not just a freak or mutant."

She nodded, then asked another question. "What about my dad? And Alex?"

"Your dad has powers. He just has always been afraid to use them. I'm not sure about your brother, since he keeps to himself."

"What about my mother?" Diana continued.

He paused before answering. "She is a very powerful woman. I made sure that my son didn't marry just anyone."

"Is? So that means that she's alive."

He smiled and began to stand.

"One last question, Grandpa."

He sat down. "Where do J and The Nine fit into this?"

He smiled widely. "I will tell you about J, but very little about The Nine. You'll find out about them, being a member and all. J is my assistant. I am head of the school, and J does what I ask her to do. She knew who you were before her son brought you. All I will tell you about The Nine is that they're powerful. Don't upset them."

"Kendall is J's son?"

"And closer to you than you think, as is J. But I can't tell you everything. That would be no fun. Besides, a superheroine like yourself should have good deductive skills. If you find something out, come to me and I'll tell you if you're right or not."

He stood up to leave, but Diana stood as well. "Grandpa, can you tell me right now that Dad and Alex are safe?"

He smiled. "Without a doubt. If even for a second I feel that they aren't, I'm bringing them in."

She gave him a hug. "I have to go. J is teaching me how to effectively read minds."

Diana walked out deep in thought. Her grandfather had told her that J and Kendall were closer to her than she thought. What did that mean? She was going to find out, and quickly.

J greeted her with a wide smile. "Hi Diana. We're going to do something a bit strenuous today, so brace yourself. Try to enter my mind. I'm going to introduce you to a mental plane."

Diana quickly entered J's mind, finding herself in a strange place. It looked as if she was outside, but everything had a haze over it. Looking in the distance, she found she could see both trees and their underground roots.

"Welcome, Diana. This is a mental plane. You have your own, and I have mine. This is something I prepared for today. Any questions?"

"What is a mental plane for?"

"It's a place where you can think and focus without any effect on time. If you're attacked by another telepath, you can retreat here, and fight them out."

Diana nodded. "Is there a way a person can keep themselves from having their mind read?"

J walked into Diana's line of vision. "Yes. That actually ties in to what we're going over. Here comes the strenuous part. Follow me."

J led Diana to a castle, then disappeared. "Try to get in. This won't be easy. You're going through the final line of defense in a mental plane."

Diana walked up to the castle's moat, being narrowly missed by an arrow.

"Remember, this is the last line of defense."

Diana stepped back and surveyed the tower, before using her power to lift a tree, using it as a battering ram to break the drawbridge.

The arrows continued to come, one skimming her arm. Using the tree as a shield, she looked up, and sire enough, saw several archers firing their arrows. Throwing a rock to her left, she angled herself to her right and continued battering the door.

A series of arrows destroyed the tree, but she grabbed the biggest piece and threw it at the archers. The arrows temporarily stopped, but came back quickly, with more and more bing shot, and faster between shots.

Diana quickly used a sonic scream to level the drawbridge and outer wall. Joining all the rubble together, she created a bridge to cross the moat, keeping some of the rocks floating around her. In the courtyard, several soldiers came running, but a rock to the chest kept them on the ground.

Diana crossed the courtyard, facing another door. With a sonic scream, it was quickly destroyed.

Diana walked in, to find J sitting in a chair inside of the large room behind the door.

"Well done, Diana. Now, let's get back to the real world."

Diana blinked, and found herself back in the simulation room, facing J.

"Since that wasn't a real plane, you had the use of your powers. Sometimes you will, sometimes you won't. You actually didn't have to force your way in. You could have just walked straight through. Most don't realize that it isn't a real place. A mental plane is only real if you let it be. You can't get hurt."

"Why didn't you say so?"

J smiled. "I wanted you to learn something. You're a natural, by the way. And you have an ability we didn't know about. Enhanced strength."

"Like super strength?"

J nodded. "It's a weaker version. You aren't as strong as Kendall. At your weakest, you can lift half a ton. Your strongest would probably be about four tons. We have several excercise rooms, but there's a great one reserved for The Nine, so you have the best stuff available."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Does everyone know I'm in The Nine?"

J laughed. "Diana, my son is the leader of The Nine, and his best friend's mother is like a sister to me. I know all of their decisions."

Diana nodded. "Can I ask you a question? And will you be honest?"

J nodded.

"How did you know about me?"

"I work for your grandfather. Among other things."

"Define other things."

"It's like what your grandfather told you. Kendall and I are closer than you think."

"So you're my aunt and Kendall is my cousin."

J was about to nod, but Diana stopped her.

"I asked you to be honest. You aren't my aunt. What are you to me?"

J's eyes softened. "I'm your mother. Kendall is your brother, and you have a sister that's 14."

"How?" Diana managed to respond, shocked.

"I knew Kendall had powers the instant he was born. It was hard, but your father and I decided to leave him in the care of some people here. We registered him under a pseudonym to keep him safe. Then you came along two years later, and I couldn't do the same thing, or else the people in our neighborhood would get suspicious. So we moved outside of LA, and I commuted. We brought Katie, but we never brought you here."

"So why did you disappear?"

"After Alex was born, 14 years later, I knew your father could take care of him, and my work here was becoming demanding. The government began to crack down, and since my frequent trips were making the people in that awful town suspicious, we agreed that I needed to disappear."

Diana sat down. "How did you know I saw my grandfather?"

J held up her phone. "Text message. Your grandfather let me do what I wanted, so here we are."

"What's my real last name?"

"It's Knight, but Schaeffer is what we usually use. It's common but uncommon."

"Does Kendall know?"

"He's known for a while. Now can I ask you a question?"

"I guess," Diana answered.

"How is Alex? Your Dad says that he's quiet. Is that true?"

Diana nodded. "He is quiet. But only because I was afraid that if Ispoke, I would lose control. He had no one to talk to."

J smiled. "He has a power, but your grandfather has yet to figure it out. Now get to lunch. It's ravioli today."

Diana laughed and turned to leave.

"And Diana?"

Diana turned.

"You still have to call me J. If we're attacked, or if one of us is captured, you can't think of me as your mother."

Diana nodded and left. The lunchroom was its usual hub of chatter, and Diana soon found herself at the center table. As she sat, Camille, Stephanie, and Lucy moved to sit next to her.

"Is it true? Are you really Kendall's sister?" Camille asked.

Diana looked up, shocked. "How quickly does news travel in this school?"

Stephanie laughed. "Kendall just told us. We occasionally have impromptu meetings, and we just had one. So is it?"

Diana nodded. "Believe me, I'm as shocked as you are. I didn't know I had an older brother until twenty minutes ago."

Lucy smiled. "You have to excuse them. Besides, if what I hear is true, then Camille was way wrong about you. If you don't move up, that will be an insult. I've heard you're really powerful."

As Lucy finished, Kendall stood and motioned for the others to follow him.

A hush fell over the cafeteria when they all stood and walked out. Reading a few minds, Diana heard,

_I wonder what they're doing._

_The Nine is meeting. I hope it's something they'll share with us_

_They make me nervous. _

Suppresing a smirk, Diana walked in line to the conference room, sitting at her usual seat at the table. Kendall and James stood at the head of the table, and Kendall spoke up.

"Diana, because of your work today, you are moving up in The Nine. You are now third. You are no longer required to go to general training sessions, and you are now allowed to tutor other students here."

Lucy and Camille clapped. As they walked out, Lucy turned to Diana. "We should spar sometime. We have our own practice room, and I'll set up a simulation."

Diana agreed and soon found herself back in her room. Sitting on her bed she sighed and removed her gloves, sitting back when a knock sounded ay the door. It was James, Kendall's best friend and number two. He gave her a smile.

"Hey Diana. Since you've moved up even more, you'll need to have even better control of your powers. Do you want to train with me sometime?"

Diana nodded. "Sure. Just tell me where the Nine's training room is, and set a time."

"Every day at 3:30. It's on the same floor as our conference room. See you there," James answered before walking away.

Diana silently closed the door and sat on her bed, unable to shake the feeling that despite how well everything was turning out, something was wrong.

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><p><strong>Diana is now number three. And Kendall's sister. So that means that this is my first story that isn't KendallOC. Review please! **


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